Calico-knit; Jersey Knit; Gay Daisy Print on rich Satin (Acetate Lastex); Reversible Double Dots; Jantzen-exclusive Lady Bug print on fine Sanforized Cotton; Sunny lions; A suggestion of the Southland

Item Details

[Portland, OR & Rockford, DE]:, Jantzen Inc., Jantzen International, [Joseph Bancroft & Sons],, [ca. 1950-1956]., N/A

First Editions, NF

“Border Patrol” print; Striking Kona Kai print: [Fourteen original salesman fabric sample cards with a variety of swimsuit fabrics & patterns]. Fourteen pieces. 8vo. 5.75 x 9 in. [14 leaves (unnumbered).], on thick card stock, each w/ hole punches, or rivets in upper fore-edge. With 36 fabric samples sized from 2.25 x 2.25 in. up to 5.25 x 7.25 in. with the majority the larger size, and two additional swimsuit fabric samples laid-in, 11 of 14 clasped at upper left w/ original metal ring (annotations, some notes & cross-outs for pricing and inventory numbers), but still an exceptional NF collection of sample cards, from the library of Jantzen Co. founder John Adam Zehntbauer (1884-1969) who in 1910 had set up the Portland Knitting Co. with Carl Jantzen and C.R. Zehntbauer, later becoming longtime President of the company.

First editions of this exceedingly scarce series of Mid-20th-Century original swimsuit fabric sample cards providing essential visual and tactile connection with Jantzen’s groundbreaking swimwear textiles following World War II. By the 1950’s Jantzen had changed to Jantzen, Inc. featuring designs for their swimsuits by such innovators as Louella Ballerino, who emphasized their new fabrics, for resort-ready swimwear. These splendid samples include original textiles and patterns incorporating their innovative stretchable form-fitting fabrics encompassing not only Calico-knit with Redmanized Cotton, but also their sun-and-water tested Acetate Lastex, Celanese Acetate with cotton and elasticized yarn, Sanforized cotton, Mercerized and Sanforized cotton, and more. These patterns present a visual feast of Mid-Century-Modern colours, and pattern influences from several cultures, with brilliant reds, blues, startling Modern patterns, and whimsical character-driven designs. The Everglaze cotton, and several others were specially designed for Jantzen Inc. by the famed Joseph Bancroft & Sons So. mills in Delaware, as well as other interrelated mills before being incorporated into their swim and leisure wear at the time. No similar surviving examples in Worldcat, or other institutional holdings (Hagley does hold a photo of Jantzen suit w/ sample); See: 1950s - Global Expansion and Resort Glamour, Through the Decades, the History of Jantzen Swimwear (2025); Trudy Chin, Jantzen, Collaboration Between Design & Advertising in the Jantzen Bullpen, Portland Design History (2025).